The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Guzmania that is an inter-specific hybrid, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Soledoxe2x80x99.
Guzmania is predominantly epiphytic with a few terrestrial species and is native to the tropics. For the most part, species vary in diameter from 7 or 8 inches to 3 or 4 feet and have rosettes of glossy, smooth-edged leaves.
Floral bracts of Guzmania frequently have brilliant colors and may last for many months. The range of colors for Guzmania is generally from yellow through orange but may also include flame red and red-purple. White or yellow, tubular, three-petalled flowers may also appear on a stem or within the leaf rosette but are usually short-lived.
Guzmania may be advantageously grown as pot plants for greenhouse or home use. Desirably, the plants are shaded from direct sunlight, and during the spring to autumn period, the central vase-like part of the leaf rosette is desirably filled with water.
Guzmania is native to tropical America. Leaves of Guzmania are usually formed as basal rosettes, which are stiff and entire and in several vertical ranks. Guzmania plants have terminal spikes or panicles which are often bracted with petals united in a tube about as long as the calyx. The ovary is superior and the seeds plumose.
Asexual propagation of Guzmania is frequently done through the use of tissue culture practices. Propagation can also be from offshoots produced by the plant which may then be rooted. The resulting plantlets are detached from the mother plant and may be potted in a suitable growing mixture.
Methods for cultivation and crossing of Guzmania are well known. For a detailed discussion, reference is made to the following publications, which are incorporated herein by reference: Benzing, David H., THE BIOLOGY OF THE BROMELIADS, Mad River Press, Inc., Eureka (1980); Zimmer, Karl, BROMELIEN, Verlag Paul Parey, Berlin (1986); and Rauh, Werner, BROMELIEN, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (1981).
The new cultivar xe2x80x98Soledoxe2x80x99 is a product of a planned breeding program and was originated by the inventors from a cross made during such a program in Assendelft, The Netherlands, in 1989. The male or pollen parent was a proprietary selection of Guzmania lingulata identified by Code No. 8940920. The female or seed parent was a proprietary selection of Guzmania squarrosa identified by Code No. 8940906.
The selection which is the variety xe2x80x98Soledoxe2x80x99 was chosen after commencement of flowering of the progeny of the cross of 8940920xc3x978940906 in 1992 in Assendelft, The Netherlands. The selection was first asexually propagated through offshoots by, or under the supervision of, the inventors in Assendelft, The Netherlands, with subsequent asexual reproduction through the use of tissue culture. Continuous asexual propagation has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar xe2x80x98Soledoxe2x80x99, as observed in Assendelft, The Netherlands, are firmly fixed and reproduce true to type through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
xe2x80x98Soledoxe2x80x99 has not been tested under all available environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature, light intensity, frequency of fertilization, composition of fertilizer, acetylene treatment, day length and humidity without, however, any change in the genotype of the new cultivar. For example, substantial differences in plant height and diameter, and the number of leaves, can result depending on the size of the plant at the time flowering is induced by acetylene treatment. Since treatment with acetylene to induce flowering disrupts normal watering and fertilization regimens, acetylene treatment of relatively smaller plants adversely affects the growth of the plant.
The closest comparison cultivar is Guzmania xe2x80x98Red Starxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,613). The most important difference is the color of the inflorescence. The inflorescence of Guzmania xe2x80x98Soledoxe2x80x99 is yellow, RHS 12A and green, RHS 143B in color. Guzmania xe2x80x98Red Starxe2x80x99 has bright red scape bracts, RHS 42A through 45A and 45C, and flower petals when visible are yellow, RHS 13C. Plants of the new cultivar differ from its parents primarily in plant height.
xe2x80x98Soledoxe2x80x99 is particularly characterized by the following characteristics:
1. Steady growth habit in a funnel-form rosette measuring approximately 32 cm in height above the pot when flowering;
2. Numerous, relatively narrow leaves, each approximately 5.0-5.5 cm in width and 34 cm in length;
3. Superior primary bract production;
4. Compound inflorescence;
5. Floral bracts are yellow-red, which especially distinguishes the new cultivar from others known to the inventors, including the cultivar xe2x80x98Red Starxe2x80x99; and
6. Long-lasting leaves and inflorescence color.
Guzmania xe2x80x98Soledoxe2x80x99 is a steady, long-lasting hybrid with superior bract-production and a compound, yellow and green inflorescence that exhibits good keeping quality.